A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1043 Wu Mingqiang Smuggles Rice

"Brother Chen's house is really nicely decorated," Gui'er exclaimed sincerely.

“This is a recent move. After all, I earn more now, and we’re also discussing marriage with the Lin family. I don’t want Pei-shan to lose face. Plus, with a few more rooms, if any comrades need to stay in Hong Kong for a short time, this place can be a hiding place,” Chen Zhongyu said.

Lin Peishan skillfully brought out fruit and drinks from the kitchen, and said to Gui'er in the manner of a hostess, "Gui'er, come and have some fruit and drinks."

Gui'er nodded, not forgetting the purpose of her trip. She said, "Actually, our trip there went quite smoothly, probably because we had made good arrangements. But there was an unexpected problem on the way back. It was because of my poor planning. I was thinking of relying on our previous connections to get back, but that Mitsui & Co. manager, Masao Hayashi, took the opportunity to blackmail me into going with the captain of the puppet army's military police headquarters, who was also his protector. If I didn't agree, he would make excuses, so I had no choice but to agree."

"Huh?" Lin Peishan's eyes widened in surprise. "Gui'er, you, you..."

Gui'er smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. Wu Mingqiang went to the black market and bought poison. I poisoned that person. The poison took effect very quickly, and he died. We managed to fool Lin Zhengfu and later boarded his boat to come back."

"Oh...no, you, you killed..." Lin Peishan was so shocked that her mouth couldn't close for a long time.

“So that’s how it is. Has Lin Zhengfu returned now? Has he noticed anything wrong? The Japanese trading companies and Japanese spies here are closely connected. If he finds out you killed that traitor, he’ll probably betray you very soon, and you’ll be in danger.” Chen Zhongyu thought for a moment and said, his brows furrowed, feeling that this matter was very troublesome.

“Brother Chen, it’s not a big deal. On our way back by boat, the boatmen tried to take advantage of me and mentioned that Lin Zhengfu had given many women who asked him to help them smuggle into Hong Kong to Captain Hao. So, Wu Mingqiang killed them all and threw their bodies into the sea. We swam back to shore from the middle of the sea and then pretended to be smuggled back to Hong Kong by human traffickers.”

This shocked even Chen Zhongyu, and Lin Peishan was completely dumbfounded.

After a while, Chen Zhongyu suddenly remembered something and said, "I think I received some news today that the marine police found an empty ship in the near sea. It seems to be the ship that usually transports goods for Japanese trading companies. Could it be that ship?"

"possible."

Chen Zhongyu thought for a moment and said, "Killing a traitor is one thing, but those boatmen are probably no good either. They've probably taken advantage of the chaos to loot countless times. But did you clean up the ship properly? Did you leave any evidence? The Hong Kong government doesn't dare offend the Japanese now. As far as I know, they've already pressured the police to conduct a thorough investigation."

Gui'er recalled the situation at the time: "Wu Mingqiang is very meticulous. He threw all the bodies into the sea, searched and found no survivors. He also searched those people's bodies and took away their identification documents, so it will probably be difficult to trace them. However, that ship is registered and has a number engraved on it, so it can still be traced back to a foreign company's ship. But it will probably be difficult to trace it back to us. On the contrary, when I poisoned that captain in Guangzhou, the hotel owner must remember my appearance. It is unlikely that they can trace it back to Hong Kong, right?"

“I’ll keep an eye out for that. You should try to avoid appearing in public in the future to avoid being recognized. There are still quite a few people coming to Hong Kong from Guangzhou,” Chen Zhongyu said.

"Yes, I understand," Gui'er said.

“However, your servant is quite remarkable. How could he eliminate so many people at once? Those people spend most of their time at sea. Even if they weren’t very skilled, they would still be physically strong.” Lin Peishan found it very unbelievable.

Gui'er smiled. Although she didn't want to say it, she had no choice but to confess: "He used to be my brother's right-hand man. He was my sister-in-law. He was a thug brought from her family home. He was trained as an assassin back then."

“He used to be involved in the underworld, no wonder.” Chen Zhongyu said, “I only knew that he was handling the behind-the-scenes matters for your second brother, I never expected this. So it must be true that he wanted to smuggle rice to Guangzhou.”

"Huh? Smuggled rice?" Gui'er was stunned; she had never heard Wu Mingqiang mention it before.

"Yes, and it's all under the banner of Detective Longxing. Even if Detective Longxing doesn't participate, he probably still gets a share, since it's all done by the gangs under his jurisdiction."

"I really don't know, and ever since he got involved with Detective Longxing, although he's still good to me, I feel like I'm gradually losing control of him. What should I do, Brother Chen?" Gui'er was also a little lost. She knew that she was able to return from Guangzhou unscathed thanks to Wu Mingqiang, but although he was good to her, she felt that sometimes the things he did didn't quite align with her values.

"Well, actually, this kind of rice smuggling business started soon after Guangzhou fell. We could only turn a blind eye. It's a market demand; people risk their lives for money. Although it's dangerous, the profits are huge, and there will always be people willing to take the risk. Just remind him not to expose himself and implicate you. Also, about that ship, the Japanese probably won't give up investigating. Tell him to be careful and not to give anything away. Xu Jing, Meng Haoliang, and I have discussed it. The British government is currently pursuing a policy of appeasement, and Hong Kong is far from the reach of the central government. Although Japan doesn't dare to provoke the Allies for the time being, so they haven't touched Hong Kong, it doesn't mean they won't interfere in Hong Kong affairs. Once they find out about you and Wu Mingqiang, it will probably be very troublesome."

Gui'er nodded with mixed feelings.

Seeing his worried expression, Chen Zhongyu comforted him, "Don't worry, I feel that Wu Mingqiang is quite efficient in doing things, he shouldn't leave any loose ends."

Lin Peishan also said, "Gui'er, you've suffered so much on this trip. School starts in a few days, so you should rest at home. Once school starts, you'll be back to your studies and everything will be fine."

When Gui'er returned to the villa, she said to Dingxiang, "When Brother Wu comes back, tell him to come to the study to find me."

Dingxiang said, "Okay, I've been back for a while now, and I'm taking a bath."

Gui'er was taken aback: "Why take a bath in broad daylight?"

"Needless to say, he went on a date with that prostitute, and he smelled of perfume all over himself. Every time he came back, he would take a shower first before greeting you, just in case you smelled those filthy bastards."